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Q. We are on a broadband and home phone plan with Optus. We are told that we cannot take our phone number with us and must use Telstra, is this correct?

LINDY EVE
27/01/2011 5:51:43 AM

Optus uses an entirely different network to Telstra and as most Internet Service Providers (ISPs) use Telstra's infrastructure to supply an internet connection, this can cause problems.

In some cases, Optus simply rents Telstra's network and in this case, customers can usually keep their phone number. However, where Optus is using its own infrastructure, customers looking to switch providers find themselves more restricted.

If the ISP you have tried tells you that you cannot port over your Optus number, then this will be true for this particular provider.

However, some ISPs will allow you to port your number over from an Optus account. TPG, for example, allows Optus transfers for customers signing up to an ADSL2+ home phone and broadband bundle, provided the customer is being directly billed by Optus, not by a reseller.

If porting over your home phone number is important to you, give a few providers a call and explain the situation. Dodo sometimes uses the Optus network, as does Exetel and you may also be in luck with iPrimus.

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Q. We are on a broadband and home phone plan with Optus. We are told that we cannot take our phone number with us and must use Telstra, is this correct?

LINDY EVE
27/01/2011 5:51:43 AM

Optus uses an entirely different network to Telstra and as most Internet Service Providers (ISPs) use Telstra's infrastructure to supply an internet connection, this can cause problems.

In some cases, Optus simply rents Telstra's network and in this case, customers can usually keep their phone number. However, where Optus is using its own infrastructure, customers looking to switch providers find themselves more restricted.

If the ISP you have tried tells you that you cannot port over your Optus number, then this will be true for this particular provider.

However, some ISPs will allow you to port your number over from an Optus account. TPG, for example, allows Optus transfers for customers signing up to an ADSL2+ home phone and broadband bundle, provided the customer is being directly billed by Optus, not by a reseller.

If porting over your home phone number is important to you, give a few providers a call and explain the situation. Dodo sometimes uses the Optus network, as does Exetel and you may also be in luck with iPrimus.

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